Monday, June 14, 2010

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake for a Birthday

My second daughter's 21st birthday was Thursday. Some of her friends decided to take her out on Thursday to buy a cute new outfit and go to a nightclub; what a birthday present!

So, of course we celebrated her birthday on Friday. The little brothers made her a birthday ba
nner.
When they had gone to the fabric store for the tiny pieces of red for Thor, Ryan (at my request) went hunting for some fabric with pigs or some amusing design for me. He found this Arctic Splash fabric, and hounded Cass that he and Mark wanted it because it was amusing.

She was shocked that it became a new apron and pot holders for her college apartment (her first move out of a dorm).

And Cass wanted chocolate cake for her birthday, instead of the traditional marble cake. I tried this recipe.

SOUR CREAM CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp melted butter
1-1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs

Beat together the sour cream, sugar, vanilla and butter. Stir in the dry ingredients, then beat in the eggs. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes, until the batter is smooth. Pour into a greased 13x9 baking pan, and bake at 350F for 30 to 34 minutes.

This cake has a shiny, smooth surface when it's baked. It's very dense and moist, really, more reminiscent of a pound cake than anything else. So if you don't like the texture of pound cake, this one's not for you. If you do, hooray! Pound cake in chocolate flavor!

Hope you all had a great weekend. Here, we had huge amounts of rain on Sunday. I'm glad I live on top of a hill; there was some flooding of lower areas and some intersections. But, of course, the biggest problem was that poor Thor spent the day hiding with the boys, seeking protection from the booming sky outside. Happy Monday, everyone!

14 comments:

gMarie said...

Happy Birthday Cass - and happy birthing day to Mom. Geez, we grow them for nine months, go through heck to get them here and the work still doesn't end, does it?

Hope you had a lovely visit - is she home for the summer now? g

pam said...

Happy Monday! And it looks like it was a wonderful birthday for Cass!!

Diane said...

Happy 21st Cass. With so many in the family there is always a birthday going on. The material is fantastic I love it. The cake looks pretty good to. Diane

Pam said...

What a fun b-day gift - love the fabric. I bet the sour cream made this cake extra moist.

Sue said...

A 21st birthday! That's a big one. I remember mine. Happy birthday, Cass.

The Blonde Duck said...

You're such a cool mom. I asked my mom for apple pie for my b-day last year and instead of baking it, she picked one up at a restaurant.

Tatersmama said...

Happy Birthday Cass! The apron is adorable and I'm sure it will get plenty of use!

But with the cake? STOP IT ALREADY! I'm on day 2 of a protein diet, and I'm getting mighty cranky! ;)

Ann Made Studio said...

Sounds like it was a great Birthday!

The apron is super cute :)

Unknown said...

Happy 21st Birthday, Cass! It's been a joy watching her mature these past couple of years. She's a beauty, and looks spunky sporting her new apron. Ryan did a great job picking out cute fabric. I like the yellow piping. I love how you add cute details and embellishments like that. Hope she likes apartment living!

I'm a fan of pound cake, so this sounds like heaven to me. I love the white frosting contrasting with the dark cake. YUM!

Paula said...

Oh geez, I forgot to switch users and so the message from "Tess" is actually from me. *sigh*

Mickle in NZ said...

Belated Happy 21st Birthday, Cass. Your "little" brother did a great job finding the fabric. And so did Mom with the birthday cake - a dense, rich choccy cake = Yummo! Be sure to get the recipe from her as it wiil be useful to "encourage" your apartment-mates with.

Hope you have a glorious Summer and a very happy 21st year, sending huggles from down-under,

Michelle and Zebbycat, xxx and purrrrumbles (from under his quilt, of course)

buffalodick said...

I'm cooking with more sour cream than ever before- flavorful and moist in a cake like that!

SissySees said...

Happy birthday, Cass! I think I have to try this cake recipe. We love pound cakes, sour cream and I adore chocolate. Perhaps with the other things going for it, the Knight will try it too?

Jan Mader said...

I know what I'm baking next! This looks yummy and on top of that, it looks easy...